Virtual Schooling for High School and College Students

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Teachers have traditionally taught students in a classroom with a certain grade level. This method has worked for years without the need to revamp the way that a lesson is taught. As technology have improved and become available to students, so has the incorporation of technology in the classroom.

Distance education dates back to the early 1700s; however, over the years distance education has transformed and moved to different delivery methods (Shelly 519). In fact, most education institutions refer to distance education today as courses that are primarily taught using the Internet and that deliver Internet-based courses in many different forms or modalities (Shelly 519). A virtual school is a school that is offered over the World Wide Web. This method of teaching is offered to students in high school as well as college students. What makes these classes unique is that they are convenient, flexible, and accessible from any location. The online classes are accessed over the Internet or through a school network where a student can get class assignments, take tests, read bulletins; work on team projects, and read grades. Some students decide to take a class online because of their location to a physical school, like a student in a rural area and some students decide to take a course online because of disability or because they are homebound due to illness. Online schools also offer credit recovery. Credit Recovery is defined as a means to regain credit toward graduation for a course that a student was unsuccessful in earning in academic credit previously. The focus of credit recovery programs is providing students a way to stay in school and graduate on time (Shelly 520).

Some of the advantages for the students are t...

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...e, evaluate, and assist instructors. And they are pioneering performance-based education funding models (Tucker 5). Where successful, virtual schooling demonstrates that innovative reforms can be readily integrated into the public school system. As a result, it is increasingly important to understand both the innovations that are emerging from online schooling and their potential to leverage reform on a far larger scale in public education.

Works Citied

Shelly, Gunter et.al. Intergrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. Boston: Course Technology, 2010.

Tucker, Bill. Laboratories of Reform. 2007.
DiPietro, Ferdig et.al. Best practices in teaching K-12 online: Lessons learned from Michigan Virtual School teachers. 2008.

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